A Journey into the Center of the Earth
868 Words
Jules Verne BiographyTHE SCIENTIFIC AUTHOR, Jules Verne is still remembered for his much celebrated works such as Around the World in Eighty Days (1873), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869).
Jules Gabriel Verne was born in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France on February 8, 1828. He was the first child of Sophie Henriette Allotte de la Fuye and Pierre Verne, an attorney who had four more children following the birth of Jules. Living in a maritime port city and spending summers on the Loire River, Verne would closely observe the comings and goings of ships and schooners which developed his imagination for adventure and travelling. Jules had begum writing short stories and poetry while studying at boarding school after which he went to Paris to study law following the footsteps of his father. However, Verne seemed to be more interested in pursuing a career in theater rather than law much to the disappointment of his father. Verne wrote and worked in collaborations on many operettas, dramas and plays including Blind Man’s Bluff (1852). During this period, Verne collaborated with his musician friend Jean Louis Aristide Hignard several times.
In 1857, Verne married a widow named Honorine de Viane Morel who already had two daughters, Suzanne and Valentine. Verne and Honorine later had a son they named Michel Jean Verne. Jules worked at the stock market, but when he was not working there, Verne and his wife travelled in America, France and the British Isles. During these travels, Verne met other authors including Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo. Although many of his novels had previously been rejected by publishers, Verne’s literary career was launched after he became acquainted with publisher Pierre Jules Hetzel. Five Weeks in a Balloon was published in 1863 receiving immense acclaim. It was the first of the extraordinary series. Almost a year later in 1864 came Journey to the Center of the Earth followed by From the Earth to the Moon in 1865 and its 1870 sequel, All Around the Moon. Many of Verne’s novel were serialized in Hetzel’s Magazine d’Éducation et de Récréation before being published as complete books.
Verne and his wife spend a lot of time sailing on their ship, Saint-Michel. His sailing experiences and adventures became the inspiration for many other literary works such as The Adventures of a Special Correspondent (1872), The Mysterious Island (1875), The Survivors of the Chancellor (1875), Michael Strogoff (1876), and d**k Sand: A Captain at Fifteen (1878).
Jules Verne was selected councilor of Aimens in 1888. He spent fifteen years serving the position while continuing to travel and write. Some significant publications from this time include Eight Hundred Leagues on the sss (1881), Robur the Conqueror (1886), Ticket No. 9672 (1886), Facing the Flag (1896), and Master of the World (1904). Jules Verne died on March 24, 1905 after suffering from diabetes.
A true inventor and visionary, Jules Verne set ideas and wrote about many important inventions, conveniences and explorations we experience today. He predicted the use of hydrogen as an energy source as well as future technologies such as submarines, airplanes, helicopters and skyscrapers. He also wrote about ways of travelling to and exploring the north, south poles and the moon.
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Table of ContentsTITLE
Chapter 1 - The Professor and His Family
Chapter 2 - A Mystery to Be Solved at Any Price
Chapter 3 - The Runic Writing Exercises the Professor
Chapter 4 - The Enemy to Be Starved into Submission
Chapter 5 - Famine, Then Victory, Followed by Dismay
Chapter 6 - Exciting Discussions about an Unparalleled Enterprise
Chapter 7 - A Woman's Courage
Chapter 8 - Serious Preparations for Vertical Descent
Chapter 9 - Iceland! But What Next?
Chapter 10 - Interesting Conversations with Icelandic Savants
Chapter 11 - A Guide Found to the Centre of the Earth
Chapter 12 - A Barren Land
Chapter 13 - Hospitality under the Arctic Circle
Chapter 14 - But Arctics can be Inhospitable, Too
Chapter 15 - Snæfell at Last
Chapter 16 - Boldly down the Crater
Chapter 17 - Vertical Descent
Chapter 18 - The Wonders of Terrestrial Depths
Chapter 19 - Geological Studies in Situ
Chapter 20 - The First Signs of Distress
Chapter 21 - Compassion Fuses the Professor's Heart
Chapter 22 - Total Failure of Water
Chapter 23 - Water Discovered
Chapter 24 - Well Said, Old Mole! Canst Thou Work I' the Ground So Fast?
Chapter 25 - De Profundis
Chapter 26 - The Worst Peril of All
Chapter 27 - Lost in the Bowels of the Earth
Chapter 28 - The Rescue in the Whispering Gallery
Chapter 29 - Thalatta! Thalatta!
Chapter 30 - A New Mare Internum
Chapter 31 - Preparations for a Voyage of Discovery
Chapter 32 - Wonders of the Deep
Chapter 33 - A Battle of Monsters
Chapter 34 - The Great Geyser
Chapter 35 - An Electric Storm
Chapter 36 - Calm Philosophic Discussions
Chapter 37 - The Liedenbrock Museum of Geology
Chapter 38 - The Professor in His Chair Again
Chapter 39 - Forest Scenery Illuminated by Eletricity
Chapter 40 - Preparations for Blasting a Passage to the Centre of the Earth
Chapter 41 - The Great Explosion and the Rush down below
Chapter 42 - Headlong Speed Upward through the Horrors of Darkness
Chapter 43 - Shot out of a Volcano at Last!
Chapter 44 - Sunny Lands in the Blue Mediterranean
Chapter 45 - All's Well That Ends Well
Footnotes
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